Pat and I were a little nervous about seeing this film. The story looked good and it had good reviews but when we saw the trailer neither one of us could make out a word they were saying due to the thick Scottish accents.

As the movie begins, Rose-Lynn is being released from prison. Her mother has been taking care of her two children while she has been incarcerated. Rose-Lynn’s dream is to go to Nashville and become a country singer (not a country & western singer)!

But the pressure of looking after two young children, holding down a job, and pursuing her dream become almost too much for her and it looks like she might have to give up.

Once the movie started we had no trouble with the accents. It was a great movie – fun and the actress really can sing!

I hadn’t been to a movie since February and this one was a good re-introduction to our weekly movie series.

I love everything “Leonard Cohen” but I have to admit I knew very little about his life. When Marianne was dying I remember the heartfelt message Leonard sent to her; he died just three months later. The story is told by their friends and there is lots of early footage of Cohen, as well as some of his later concerts which I was lucky enough to attend.

As soon as I got home I pulled the biography of Leonard Cohen from the shelf – so far I’m enjoying it.

In some ways I was disappointed in the movie; in some ways I loved it. These four Dames apparently get together often for visits and this time their visit was captured on camera.

There was a lot of footage from theatre productions they starred in, as well as from their movies. We saw each of them being awarded their Damehood, and various awards for their acting.

I loved it because you could see the brilliant sense of humour they each have and I suspect, without the cameras, things get quite wild. On the other hand some of the conversations seemed rather stilted as they answered questions from someone off-camera.

Edge of the Knife

Edge of the Knife

This was an exceptional movie in so many respects. It is the first feature film in the Haida language and is shot on Haida Gwaii, one of the most beautiful spots in the world. The movie tells the story of a guilt-ridden man who retreats into the wilderness where he become feral until, a year later, he is captured by members of his community who drive the evil spirits out of him.

Firecrackers

My least favourite show of the festival. Two teenaged girls are desperate to get out of their small town but the ways they go about accomplishing their escape were hard to watch.

Maria by Callas

I knew Maria Callas was a famed opera star and that she was always linked to Aristotle Onasis. Other than that I really knew nothing about her. The movie weaves interview footage and Callas’ own journals and letters to give a portrait of a very beautiful woman. I liked how she interpreted her affair with Onassis – something I didn’t have a very clear picture of her as a person.